Inspired Remodels, Author at Inspired Remodels

Orange County Flooring Contractor Talks 3 Flooring Options

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / Comments Off

Orange County homeowners eschew carpet for living areas and love hard floor options. But even when you set aside carpet options, the wide variety of flooring types can be overwhelming. Inspired Remodels, an Orange County flooring contractor breaks flooring options into broad categories to make the selection process easier.

Tile Flooring Options

Tile flooring continues as a popular choice for Orange County homes. It offers both durability and an incredible variety of shapes, textures, sizes, and styles. Tile floors break down into 3 broad categories.

Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile floors appear in bathrooms, kitchens, hallways, and living areas. You’ll even find ceramic tile in Orange County bedrooms. People love these tiles for their durability and versatility. They come in almost any color you can imagine and many different shapes and sizes. Tile floors require grout.

Porcelain Tile

Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles on steroids. They offer more durability and water resistance than standard ceramic tiles. Confused?

All porcelain tiles are ceramic, but not all ceramic tiles are porcelain.

Porcelain tile provides the ideal solution for areas with high moisture. Find these tiles on Orange County bathroom and kitchen floors.

Natural Stone Tile

Natural stone floors, such as marble, granite, and slate, offer a luxurious and timeless look that elevates the design of any room. Because they are made from natural stone, each tile presents a unique, one-of-a-kind appearance.

Natural stone requires extra maintenance to keep it looking great. Stone floors also require grout.

Orange County flooring contractor after photo engineered walnut hardwood flooring in hallway

Engineered hardwood flooring in walnut

Wood Flooring Options

Wood flooring adds warmth and elegance to any Orange County home. Like tile, you face many options. This includes:

hardness of the wood species
plank width
finish

Harder woods like hickory and oak provide more resistance to dents and scratches, making them perfect for high-traffic areas. Wide planks make a room look larger and offer a modern look, while narrow planks create a more traditional appearance. Wood flooring falls into 3 broad categories.

Solid Hardwood

A solid hardwood flooring plank represents a single piece of wood. When it comes to longevity, hardwood shines. Sand and refinish over again to make it look like new. Homeowners love oak, maple, and cherry in Orange County for different reasons. Oak offers a classic look, maple brings hardness, and cherry provides a rich color.

Engineered Hardwood

Engineered hardwood consists of a top layer of real wood veneer fused to several layers of plywood. This construction makes it more resistant to moisture compared to solid hardwood. Engineered hardwood options cover many different wood species, finishes, and plank widths.

Bamboo Flooring

For the environment-minded buyer, bamboo offers a sustainable and eco-friendly flooring option. Bamboo flooring might technically come from grass, but bamboo flooring scores higher on the Janka hardness scale than wood flooring from trees. Look to bamboo for a unique and contemporary look for your Orange County home.

Floors that Look Like Wood But Aren’t

Look again. That wood flooring might be made from another material. Faux wood floors go where real wood cannot, and require less maintenance. Orange County flooring contractors install wood-look porcelain tiles in bathrooms to achieve spa looks and luxury vinyl plank all over the house.

Orange County flooring contractor photo after installing wood LVP in kitchen with green cabinets and white countertop

LVP looks just like wood

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)

LVP mimics the look of real wood. Manufactured from multiple layers of PVC vinyl, LVP offers a flooring option that is highly durable, water-resistant, and easy to maintain. LVP allows you to get a wood look without the special maintenance or higher costs associated with wood.

Orange County flooring contractor uses wood-look tile to create spa feeling with white marble walls and white soaking tub

Wood-look tile creates a spa feel in the bathroom

Wood-Look Porcelain Tile

Advances in manufacturing technology make it possible to create porcelain tiles that emulate wood right down to the grain. These tiles combine the beauty of wood with the durability and water resistance of porcelain. Install in wet areas like bathrooms and kitchens for the look of wood and the ease of tile.

Experienced Orange County Flooring Contractor

Flooring impacts the look, feel, and functionality of your home. Whether you prefer the classic appeal of wood, the durability of tile, or the versatility of wood-look alternatives, Inspired Remodels, an Orange County flooring contractor installs floors you’ll love for years.

custom kitchen remodeling after picture white and brown cabinets stainless steel appliances La Cabana windows

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Tips for a Smooth Remodel

Kitchen and bath remodeling requires thinking about everyday activities in a different way. While your new rooms transform, so does your life. Follow these tips from kitchen and bath contractors to live with minimal disruption during the remodeling process.

Kitchen

Set up a mini-kitchen either outside or inside. If outside, you can make use of a propane grill or Coleman Stove. You can even use electric appliances under covered, dry areas when the weather is nice. Thankfully in Southern California, that’s most days.

Inside, designate a space as the temporary kitchen. If you have a utility sink and a front-loading washer and dryer, you have a water source and flat surfaces for preparing and cooking food.

Courtesy Ninja Appliances

Lean heavily into multi-cooker devices like the Ninja multi-cookers that operate as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, air fryer, and food steamer. In place of a multi-cooker, you can use a large toaster oven as your oven and toaster. Either way, make sure you have a mini-microwave and portable fridge.

Invest in disposable utensils, plates, bowls, and cups. No, it’s not the most eco-friendly way to live through a kitchen remodel, but it will save your sanity.

If the laundry room is a no-go space, give your bathrooms a hard look. Look for a water source and flat surfaces

Bathroom

This one is a bit easier. Whether the bath contractor works in the master bathroom or a shared or spare bathroom, you’ll be down one set of sinks, toilet, and bathing area. Most Orange County homes have more than one bathroom. That makes doubling up easier. Easier, not easy.

To make it easy, plan bathing schedules in advance. Split bath and grooming times for family members between mornings and bedtime. If you have a large or busy family, don’t be afraid to post a schedule and make sure everyone sticks to it!

shower caddy showing towels, brushes, shampoo, and conditioner bottle

Get organized & portable with a shower caddy

Use portable storage containers. Shop online or visit your local big box store and look for personal hygiene caddies marketed for dorm living. They make the perfect vessel for organizing and storing your personal care products while you are using a second bathroom.

Don’t forget to take advantage of your gym’s shower facilities. Feel free to use the shower even if you didn’t work out first. Go ahead, you paid for the membership, take full advantage of it!

Design Build Orange County Kitchen and Bath Contractors

Inspired Remodels offers full design and build services. Not all kitchen and bath contractors provide full services.

As design-build contractors, Inspired Remodels provides you with a single point of contact throughout the remodeling process. Remodeling disrupts lives, but working with skilled, caring, and respectful contractors minimizes the disruption.

Before hiring a contractor for a kitchen or bathroom remodel, ask how they will minimize the disruption.

After kitchen remodeler adds open shelves storing white cups and plates

8 Custom Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

By Inspired Remodels / custom cabinets, Home Improvement, Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off

In Orange County, custom kitchen remodeling focuses on creating functional spaces that integrate technology and look as great as the work. Homeowners want kitchens that incorporate light, airy designs, that play off our beautiful natural surroundings. With a focus on indoor-outdoor living, in 2024, custom kitchen remodeling ideas brought to life by Inspired Remodels incorporate blues and greens and favor natural wood finishes. Here are a few custom kitchen remodel trends to inspire you as you dream of your new kitchen.

Open Concept Layout

When it comes to Orange County living, the kitchen remains the heart of the home. Naturally, open kitchen designs continue to be popular. It’s not uncommon for Inspired Remodels to remove walls and rework spaces to create a multifunctional area for cooking, eating, and entertaining.

Open concepts make the most of abundant natural light and make spaces appear larger than they are in reality.

Incorporate High-Tech

From lighting to smart appliances controlled by apps, technology makes its way from Silicon Valley to Saddleback Valley. Induction cooktops keep kitchens cooler and ovens that double as air fryers cook food using healthier methods.

Voice-controlled automation sets a timer and smart lighting options adjust illumination with the tap of a button or your smartphone. If you create a modern kitchen, don’t forget to take advantage of all that modern technology offers.

Functional Sinks and Islands

Sinks provide more than a space to wash your hands or pots and pans. Large workstation sinks and farmhouse sinks offer not only incredible utility but style as well.

Islands now incorporate spaces to prep food, clean up, or eat. Adding water or electricity to a kitchen island increases the possibilities when it comes to design. When used for entertainment, the island also doubles as space for a buffet. Don’t forget to make use of island space for storage as well.

Beverage Stations

Coffee lovers and wine aficionados both incorporate beverage centers to make beverage preparations easier and stylish as well. These stations include appliances like coffee or espresso makers or wine coolers. Once a fringe addition to a high-end custom kitchen, now beverage stations appear in many custom kitchen renovations.

Sustainable and Natural Materials

Natural wood cabinets and natural stone countertops such as quartz continue to be popular in Orange County custom kitchen remodeling projects. Wood floors and even wood-look tile grace custom kitchen floors. This is just one way that kitchen remodeling designs bring the natural beauty of the outdoors into Orange County kitchens.

Drawers Replace Doors

Spacious pull-out drawers replace lower cabinets for storage. Drawers provide more usable space as they make the entire space more accessible and easier to organize. Deep drawers offer an alternative to pull-out hardware in lower cabinets. They represent the next stage in the evolution of kitchen design. Custom and semi-custom cabinetry provides drawers deep enough for pots, pans, and just about anything else you need to store.

Designer Backsplashes

No longer relegated to keeping the area between upper cabinets and countertops clean, backsplashes offer a place to incorporate design elements. From decorative tile to glass mosaics, the backsplash is making a splash in Orange County kitchens.

Nature-Inspired Colors

Warm neutrals and nature-inspired colors like green and blue bring a cozy yet modern feel to Orange County kitchen designs. These colors show up in cabinets, paint, and backsplashes.

Custom Kitchen Remodeling Pros

When you are ready to turn your custom kitchen modeling dreams into reality, turn to Inspired Remodels. Work with a design-build team that offers a single point of contact through the entire process.

Author: Inspired Remodels